Istvaan V

Istvaan V

Type

Orbital Radius

Unknown

Gravity

Unknown

Temperature / Climate

Unknown

Population

None; formerly life-sustaining, rendered barren long before Imperial conquest of Istvaan System after a period of tectonic instability, volcanism and long-term geological degradation of climate/biosphere

The Iron Hands, Salamanders and Raven Guard made up the first wave of the attack, but were pushed back by the superior tactics of Horus' maddened Chaos Space Marines. The Loyalist reserves were called in, but the four Space Marine Legions comprising those reserves -- the Iron Warriors, the Alpha Legion, the Word Bearers and the Night Lords -- had also secretly betrayed the Emperor and were prepared to follow Horus into rebellion and treachery and swear themselves to the service of the Warmaster and Chaos. The three Loyalist Legions were almost annihilated in the resulting crossfire but several thousand survivors from each of these so-called "Shattered Legions" managed to escape off-world, though they were too decimated to play much more than a supporting role and conduct behind-the-lines guerilla strikes in the defence of the Imperium from Horus' Traitors.

Contents

History

The Great Crusade

The Istvaan System was unusual in having several different worlds within tolerable ranges of human life, as well as several autochthonic species of life with similar genetic origin, leading the Magos Biologis of the Mechanicum to classify it as being the likely subject of past terraforming in the age before the coming of Mankind into the galaxy. At the time when the Great Crusade reached the system in the late 30th Millennium, the third planet of the system (designated Istvaan III) was the site of a thriving indigenous human population which had taken root during the Age of Strife, overbuilding a long-dead xenos civilisation of an unknown origin. Rendered barren many millennia earlier after a long period of tectonic instability and volcanism, Istvaan V still showed signs of original xeno-sentient occupation, particularly in the fragmentary remains of continent-spanning road networks, shattered dam-like structures over long dried-out watercourses and, most prominently, certain remnant macro-fortifications. These blind and empty shells were devoid of any maker's marks or the evidence of the advanced technology which had undoubtedly been used to produce them, but the molecularly-dense artificial stone of their construction remained as a testament to the power and arts of their long-dead creators. These towers and redoubts stood silent vigil on a cold world empty of life save for lower orders of hardy flora, and a post-volcanic landscape made up of hulking, irregular mountain ranges, broken deserts of black sand, weather-beaten mootland and a few stout, land-locked seas of sulphurous water.

At the start of the Horus Heresy in the 31st Millennium the Warmaster Horus apparently only had 3 Primarchs and their respective Space Marine Legions at his side. Under his command were his own Sons of Horus, joined by Angron and his World Eaters, Fulgrim with the Emperor's Children, and Mortarion and the Death Guard. After ridding himself of all suspected Loyalist members inside the three Traitor Legions during the virus-bombing of Istvaan III, Horus chose the other habitable world in the Istvaan System, Istvaan V, as his command post and prepared a deadly trap for his Primarch brothers and their Loyalist Legions.

The Emperor of Mankind ordered the deployment of seven full Space Marine Legions against Horus and the known Traitor Legions, agonizing over the betrayal of his most beloved son. Unknown to the Emperor, four of the deployed Primarchs and their Legions had already turned against him and sworn themselves to the service of Chaos, forming a "fifth column" which would strike against the Loyalists at the most decisive moment.

Prior to the landing on the planet, Fulgrim and the Emperor's Children built fortifications and trenches, intended to protect the Traitor Legions from Loyalist orbital bombardment. The initial naval operations seemed to go well for the Loyalist side. The Imperial Navy managed to make orbit over Istvaan V and the Loyalist Legions proceeded with their planetary deployment. Thousands of Drop Pods and Stormbirds were deployed for the drop. The first wave was under the overall command of the PrimarchFerrus Manus and besides his own Legion, the Iron Hands, the Loyalist forces included the Salamanders led by Vulkan, and the Raven Guard under the command of their Primarch Corax. Vulkan's Legion assaulted the left flank of the Traitors, Ferrus Manus, Gabriel Santar, and 10 full companies of elite Terminators (called Morlock Terminators by the Iron Hands) went straight to the middle of the enemy lines, and Corax's Legion hit the right flank of the enemy position. The odds were considered equal; 30,000 Traitor Marines against 40,000 Loyalists. Horus was aware of the location of the Loyalists' chosen drop site and his troops fell upon the surprised Loyalist Legions. Ferrus Manus engaged Fulgrim in a ferocious duel, but ultimately the Primarch of the Iron Hands failed and was slain. The Loyalists retreated towards the apparent safety of the reserve force's lines.

After the battle, the head of Ferrus Manus was delivered by Fulgrim to Horus as a trophy of the battle. Only a few Loyalist Space Marines, bearing the gene-seed of their fallen brothers and carrying the critically wounded Primarch Corax, managed to escape. A Loyalist Primarch had fallen in battle, and another was severely wounded. Still a third Loyalist Primarch, Vulkan, went missing in action, and how he ultimately managed to survive and to escape the Traitor Legions is still unknown. The outcome of the Drop Site Massacre was disastrous news for the Emperor and the Imperium. Due the developments at the world of Prospero the forces of the rebellion against the Emperor would be further strengthened by Magnus the Red and his Space Marine Legion, the Thousand Sons, who had become the unwitting servants of Tzeentch and had ultimately chosen to serve the Changer of Ways to protect their precious knowledge of sorcery. As the Heresy began in earnest, Horus possessed nine Space Marine Legions and had all but destroyed three of the remaining nine Loyalist ones. The path to Terra was wide open, and the decisive Battle of Terra and the Siege of the Imperial Palace would follow after seven more years of blood and terror as the Traitor Legions penetrated to the very heart of the Imperium of Man.

Operation Carthage

The Desert LionsSpace Marines were assigned to retake Istvaan V from the Forces of Chaos after the end of the Horus Heresy at some point in the early 31st Millennium during a campaign known as Operation Carthage alongside a cohort of Battle-Automata from the Adeptus Mechanicus' Legio Cybernetica. The Chapter had been tasked with the difficult job of reducing the enemies' planetary fortresses. To deal with the problem, the Desert Lions programmed the Legio Cybernetica robots to assault the Chaotic citadels in a seemingly mindless fashion. Though the robots were easily defeated and almost wiped out by the defenders, the automatons also succeeded in providing invaluable intelligence to the Astartes on the nature of the Chaos forces' defences, including their firing plans and the various blind spots in the fortresses. With this information, when the Desert Lions launched their own assault upon the fortresses, they were able to quickly reduce the defenders and bring the world back under Imperial control. Only 7 Desert Lions Space Marines were lost during the assault. In gratitude, the Desert Lions inducted all of the surviving robots of the Legio Cybernetica cohort into the Chapter as honourary Battle-Brothers.

Canon Conflict

The system/planet's name is alternatively spelled Isstvan. An older version of this battle reports that initially the Emperor was quite reluctant to crush the revolt, as the reasons for the actions of the Warmaster were unknown. In this version of the story, Fulgrim initially tried to reason and negotiate with his brother Primarch Horus only to be seduced by the power of Slaanesh.